Academic management

This course provides the student with a complete knowledge of the bases, measurements and values ??of biodiversity understood as a set of genetic variation of a marine community, both intra- and interspecific. The course includes the analysis and critical study of a practical case and of recent and relevant scientific articles on the subject.

The student is required to have previously completed an introduction to genetics at the undergraduate level. Knowledge of the English language is essential, since the course is taught in this language.

The course examines genetic diversity as one of the main components of biodiversity. The origin of genetic variation, its measurement and quantification in natural populations and species are analyzed. Intra and interspecific variation is studied and its importance in the conservation of marine species is learned.

The final objective is the acquisition of a multidisciplinary vision of biodiversity, encompassing genetic variation within species. Students will learn to recognize and quantify population and intraspecific diversity. Likewise, they will acquire the theoretical genetic tools for their application both in the analysis of genetic diversity and in the management of marine natural resources, for which this knowledge is essential.

Each topic is based on case studies, for which a recent and relevant article will be analyzed.

–1) Genetic variation in prokaryotic, animal and plant marine species.

–2) Genetic variation in natural populations.

–3) Distribution of genetic variation within a species.

–4) Natural selection, adaptation, gene drift and genetic diversity.

–5) More than biodiversity: metagenomes.

–6) Introduction to genomic analysis

Theoretical sessions: Expository presentation of the contents by the teacher, as an introduction to each topic. The following is a discussion and critical analysis of materials and bibliography by the students.

Practical exercise: field work

There will be a trip to a coastal ecosystem. In it an organism will be chosen on which some morphologically identifiable variable genetic character (color, shape, band pattern) will be studied. In preparatory sessions, students will design a sampling plan to answer some question about the spatial distribution of that genetic variation (for example, distance to fresh water, tidal level, etc.). At the field trip, the data corresponding to the planned sampling scheme will be collected, recorded and coded as agreed in the preparatory sessions.

Analysis and discussion of the practical exercise: Teamwork supervised by the teachers. Students will analyze the data obtained in the fieldwork, interpret the results and prepare a powerpoint presentation for the last session of the course.

Software to be used in the first instance for analysis (could vary according to needs): ARLEQUIN (Schneider et al. 2000)

Preparation and presentation of individual seminars: These will be chosen by the students according to their interests at the beginning of the course. Teachers will collaborate in the search for appropriate materials and, where appropriate, in choosing the topic of the seminar or individual work. The preparation of each seminar will be individual, as well as the presentation with appropriate support materials (predictably powerpoint, digital animations, connection to browser, videoconference or Skype if necessary etc). The presentation will follow the speed presentation format.

Exceptionally, if sanitary conditions require it, non-classroom teaching activities may be included. In which case, the student body will be informed of the changes made

Attendance: minimum 80% of sessions

Active participation in the practical exercise (field, laboratory, data analysis): 50%

Speed ??presentation (5 minutes) 25%

Presentation and discussion of the results of the practical exercise: 25%

 

In extraordinary call, the evaluation will consist of a written exam that will represent 100% of the final grade.

Exceptionally, if sanitary conditions require it, non-contact evaluation methods may be included. In which case, the student body will be informed of the changes made.

The relevant articles and materials will be available in pdf on the Virtual Campus.

Websites:

http://www.biodiv.org/default.shtml

http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/

http://www.biodiversity.org

 

Basic texts:

Bryant, P. J. 2007. Biodiversity and Conservation, a hypertext book. Online at: http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm

Hartl D. L., Clark A. G. (2006) Principles of population genetics. Sinauer Associates Inc. Sunderland, MA.

Krishnamurty, K. V. (2003) Textbook of Biodiversity. Science Publ. Inc., Enfield USA ISBN 978-1-57808-325-1; 2003; 276 pages.

 

 

Specialized texts:

Belkhir, K., P. Borsa, L. Chikhi, N. Raufaste and F. Bonhomme. 1996-2004. GENETIX 4.05, logiciel sous Windows TM pour la génétique des populations. Laboratoire Génome, Populations, Interactions, CNRS UMR 5000, Université de Montpellier II, Montpellier, France.

Goudet, J. 1995. Acomputer program to calculate F-statistics. Journal of Heredity 86: 485-486.

Hauser, L. and R. D. Ward. 1998. Population identification in pelagic fish: the limits of molecular markers. 191-224 inG. R. Carvalho. Population identification in pelagic fish: the limits of molecular markers. IOS PressSeries, Amsterdam.

Pritchard, J. K., M. Stephens and P. J. Donnelly. 2000. Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics 155: 945-959.

Schneider, S., D. Roessli and L. Excoffier. 2000. Harlequin ver. 2000: A software for population genetics data analysis. Genetics and Biometry Laboratory, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Waples, R. S. 1998. Separating the wheat from the chaff: patterns of genetic differentiation in high gene flow species. Journal of Heredity 89: 439-450.